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Frida Kahlo/Transcript
Transcript An image shows Frida Kahlo’s face; she is wearing a red hat. A boy, Tim, and a robot, Moby, are at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, New York, looking at a Frida Kahlo painting. The label for the painting reads "Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1938." Tim holds a brochure that says "Museum of Art Floor Plan." Moby looks at Tim. TIM: Whoa. MOBY: Beep. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, I am doing an art project about Frida Kahlo. Who was she? From, Andrew (St. Louis). An image shows Frida Kahlo. TIM: Well, Frida Kahlo was one of the most important Latin American artists of the twentieth century. She was born Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderon on July 6, 1907. Her mom was Mexican, An image shows a Mexican flag at top left above Frida Kahlo. TIM: and her father was German. An image shows a German flag at top right above Frida Kahlo. Moby stands next to Tim. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, it’s quite a name. An image shows a map of Mexico with Mexico City labeled on it. TIM: She grew up in Coyoacan, on the outskirts of Mexico City. An image shows a little girl in red boxing gloves, punching a heavy bag. TIM: When she was little, her father encouraged her to play sports, which wasn’t common for girls at that time. But at age seven, a viral disease called polio made her very sick, weakening the muscles in her right leg. An image shows Frida Kahlo’s head and shoulders, then zooms out to show she wears a long skirt. TIM: She wore long skirts through most of her life, in part to hide her leg. While in school, Kahlo witnessed a number of bloody struggles between armed groups in Mexico City. MOBY: Beep? An image shows a shack with a laundry line in front of it. TIM: Well, this was during the Mexican Revolution, which gripped the country from 1910 to around 1921. It was essentially a fight for better living conditions for the underprivileged. Because of her experiences in Mexico City, Kahlo became a strong supporter of peasants’ rights. Later, in 1925, she was in a bus accident that fractured her spine and pelvis, dislocated her shoulder, and caused other terrible injuries. She was hurt so bad that she could never have children. An image shows Frida Kahlo in her bed, propped up against a pillow, holding a canvas and a paintbrush. In front of her on the blanket is a paint palette. She looks into a mirror and paints. TIM: To relieve the boredom of recovery and to help deal with the pain and sadness of the accident, she began to paint. Five images show Frida Kahlo’s self-portraits. TIM: In her paintings, Kahlo really explored her identity. In fact, fifty-five of the one-hundred and forty-three paintings she completed were self-portraits. An image shows, one at a time, starting at top left, Frida Kahlo in a long blue dress with a red flower in her hair, the Mexican and German flags, Diego Rivera with a box labeled "Diego Rivera" above his head, a leg in a cast, and a closed fist in the air on a red background. TIM: Her work deals with her status as a woman, her mixed ancestry, her turbulent marriage to Mexican painter Diego Rivera, the pain of her injuries, and her commitment to revolutionary politics. An image shows "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird." TIM: Many people consider her paintings examples of surrealism, since much of what she painted was fantastical, but Kahlo never considered herself a surrealist. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Well, she didn’t really have a thick moustache like that. But she always painted herself with one, maybe to criticize traditional standards of beauty or to explore her experience of being a woman. An image shows "Self-Portrait with Monkeys." TIM: Kahlo’s work is unique because she took the bright colors and dramatic symbolism of Mexican culture and combined them with traditions from European art. An image shows the painting "The Little Deer." TIM: In a painting called "The Little Deer," she painted her head onto the body of a stag hit by arrows. The arrows in the stag’s back suggest the pain of her injuries, along with the unsuccessful operations she was undergoing to help that pain. An image shows the painting, "St. Sebastian" by Andrea Mantegna. TIM: But they also evoke the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian, a theme popular in European art. An image shows a man in the woods, wearing a red cloth around his waist, red wristbands, holding maracas, and wearing a stag's-head headdress. TIM: And they also reference the danza del venado, a deer-hunting ritual dance performed by Mexican tribes. An image shows the painting, "Two Fridas." A white arrow first points to the Frida on the right, and then a white arrow points to the Frida on the left. A white arrow moves along the vein in the painting, and then points to the blood dripping from the vein. TIM: In "Two Fridas," she paints two versions of herself, one in traditional Mexican clothes and another in European clothes of an earlier century. A vein connects the hearts of the two women, and blood is dripping out from one end. This was painted just after she and Rivera got divorced. The same image zooms in to show a white arrow pointing to a small portrait of Rivera in the hand of the Frida on the right. Then, a white arrow points to the broken heart on the left, and the whole heart on the right. TIM: If you look closely, you can see that the Mexican Kahlo holds a portrait of Rivera. Symbols such as the exposed hearts and stormy sky suggest the pain that Kahlo felt. Check out how one of the hearts is broken, and the other one’s whole. She seems to be suggesting that Rivera only loved the Mexican part of her. An image shows the painting "Roots" then zooms in to show her chest, then the lower part of her body, and the plant. TIM: The painting called "Roots" looks a little more cheerful at first. Her chest is open, but instead of a broken heart, it holds a plant that connects her to the ground. She seems to be getting strength from the earth and helping to bring it back to life. On the other hand, that same plant that connects her to the ground seems to be trapping her. MOBY: Beep. TIM: Yeah, in a lot of ways, Kahlo had an unhappy life. An image shows the painting, "Self-Portrait with the Portrait of Doctor Farill." TIM: And her final years were filled with pain. She even had to have one of her legs amputated. She died on July 13, 1954, when she was only 47 years old. Her art is filled with sadness, but it also expresses pride in her Mexican heritage and the joy of being a woman. An image shows Moby and Tim back at the art museum, looking at a Frida Kahlo painting. The label for the painting reads, "Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait with Monkey, 1938." Tim holds a brochure that says "Museum of Art Floor Plan." Moby and Tim look at each other. TIM: What do you think? MOBY: Beep. Tim looks at the painting and then back at Moby. TIM: Yeah, me too! Category:BrainPOP Transcripts